While I have never been entirely comfortable with the hoo-ha of Mother's Day, I must admit I wouldn't be exactly ecstatic were my children to let it pass unmarked. But even so, I am old-school: give me something imperfectly homemade over a swanky restaurant booking any day. Actually, I prefer a handmade card over a cooked offering, if only because a cake made for mother's day tends to mean the mother has the kitchen to clean up afterwards!
Still, for those of you who are blessed with mothers to cook for, I am not short of suggestions. If it were me, I would certainly be making either my Lemon Meringue Cake or Lemon Polenta Cake. And if you are thinking of making delicate suggestions as to what your children could bake for you, then tip them towards the Lemon Polenta Cake, which is a very straightforward cake to make, and even easier were 150ml light and mild olive oil be substituted for the 200g butter.
Otherwise, there are the Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, which can be beautifully packaged if need be or, for a special breakfast, a gorgeous, syrup-slicked pile of American Breakfast Pancakes.
Whatever you might be cooking for your ma, remember that it's the handwritten note that goes with it that truly makes it special.
